Israel, April 27th

[Charmerski]

Well...I don't really know how to approach this;  I'm not the biggest Melvins fan and the main things I have to say about yesterdays show concern the Israeli crowd, which wont interest most people here I guess. I'll try and focus on stuff that would be realavent for most people...

At the start it seemed that the venue is going to be rather empty. The crowd slowly gathered, while a selection of original movie tunes (Dr. No, Midnight Cowboy etc) was played in a loop. Porn came up about 30 minutes after they were suppose to, which isn't so bad in Israeli standarts.
The combination of Tim Moss and the bass player/sound guy (who's name escapes me) caused quite a few laughs, and people said the bass player looked either like a geeky teacher or like a stock broker. Anyway, I did not know what to expect from their show - slow jams, actuall songs from albums or what...and i have no idea what I got, but it was awesome. I stood quite close to the bass amp so I didn't get enough guitar and vocals, but we were amazed by the guitar sound and by Dale's drumming. The show was  short and I would have been happier if they jammed some more heavy stuff, but still just their show was worth the entire evening's ticket price (about 35$).

Big Business came up next, and I was really excited to see them live - I got to know them during the last month only, but Head for the Shallow became an instant favorit of mine. Amazing album, and the last one isn't bad, but not as good as the previous. I intended on purchasing Head for the Shallow at the show, but it cost 22$ so I'll look for it somewhere else.
Jared wore a Japanese outfit, Cody looked like "Robbie Williams" as someone beside me noted. The show started out, and then things turned sour for me: A very aggressive pogo circle started just behind me, with a bunch of idiots determained to not let others enjoy the show. I don't know what's the common view on pogo here, but I generally hate it. It stopped being fun for me when I was 17, and I think it just bothers people. Just a note; that I was in plenty of shows (including ones by metal acts such as Impaled and Dillinger Escape Plan) in the US and in Europe, and the pogo circle was never as aggressive and annoying as the one yesterday.
Then came my mistake: instead of just moving to another place, I started a fight with 2 fucking morons which almost ended in a few broken bones. After that I couldn't stay there, and ventured somewhere else, but my mood was totally gone. Big Business were as awesome as expected, though the kimono seemed to distract more than add anything. I think Cody's floor drum got torn, so they switched it, while Jared talked to the audience. It seemed like he thinks the Israeli crowd doesn't know English, which is wrong, but whatever.
They sounded the best when Dale played with them. I couldn't believe how good of a guitarist he was, and he really added to them. They should get him or someone else to play guitar for them, I know it's "their thing" to just have bass and drums, but they just sound so much better with a guitar doubling the riffs and stuff.

The crowd still sucked in the new place I stood in, with loads of disgusting posers and yuppies who'd go to anything that has any hype around. This chick stood by me and said stuff like "They're such an important band in history", and then the dude she was talking to asks her "Do you know Houdini?" and she says "I heard OF it"...Again, it's not like I'm Mr. Melvins-fan, but the crowd in Israel is disgusting for 2 main reasons: His carelessness for other people trying to enjoy the show, lack of respect to the performing musicians and his poser attitude. Well, 3 main reasons...This was displayed excellenty when during the first song on the Melvins set, a burning cigarette was thrown on Cody, who stopped the song in the middle and said "Don't throw cigarettes on us, that's not funny, it's a bummer"...the crowd was shocked, and Buzz managed to get everyone out of the embarrasement by saying "thanks for coming though". Despite the show going on, it was obvious from that point that they're not going to give something extra-special that doesn't happen in their other shows. They didn't say anything to the crowd, not even when the show ended. We were hoping that since it's their first time here etc, they'd add a few songs to the constant set-list, but it was an hour and a half show, like I understand most shows in this tour are.

The place was jam packed, and the crowd loved the show, but it wasn't a true love affair: no one knew the words to the songs, the crowd wasn't giving enough good energy's and vibes to the band, and in return the band did do an excellent set, but it was just that: an excellent set, very impressive, but without that little extra special thing to make it spectacular. Impressive, yes, amazing - no.
Just when things started to heat up, after A History of Bad Men and especially after the amazing The Bit which got everyone pumped up, the show ended. I don't see why they can't play a couple more songs, crowd favorites or not, just to keep the flow of the show.

All and all it was a good night for music, and a bad night for me. Also I was suppose to be the bands tour guide in Jerusalem for today, but they went with someone else so I'm extra bummed.
A big thanks to the Melvins and their great crew for coming and giving a great show, a big fuck you to the shitty Israeli audience for not appreciating the perfomers and the fellow attenders, though eventually there were around 700+ people in the audience, including a host of Israeli rock musicians who came to see how it SHOULD be done.
Wow, that came out long...Hope you survived it.

[Charmerski]

Oh, and: Reminding you that you can download the radio show I did with Dale Crover here, for free -

http://pod.icast.co.il/8a9f5ada-796f-4e53-8457-b01bcdcce83d.icast.mp3

[Lunica]

Thanks for the review! Make sure you have some big guys with you next time, it helps against assholes who just care about breaking other peoples bones

[sebo]

Yeah, thanks dude. +karma

[norecess]

Thanks for taking the time to post this review. Sounds like you had a good night after all, but I can see how you were disappointed by the crowd and the fact you weren't their guide in Jerusalem.

At Roadburn, there was also a moron starting a pit. Even though that was just one guy, he was fucking annoying and I had to grab him a few times trying to calm him down. The story is already in my RB review, but it also got me distracted from the show, and that was actually what annoyed me the most.

The Melvins hardly do extra things during their recent shows, but like you say, even a show without any surprises, is still an excellent show. I had hoped for something else on RB as well, but also knew it wasn't gonna happen. I was thinking Eye Flys or Lysol maybe, but of course it didn't happen. But, I was listening to that Dale interview you posted, and Buzz also mentioned it recently, they are gonna do a Eggnog/Lysol show. Goddamn, that's actually all I want to hear. Eggnog is what it's all about. Four tracks and you get everything I love about them. OK, there's much more, but that record is so brutally good.

Cool you dig Big Business, and you will realize quickly that Here Comes The Water Works beats Head For The Shallow, even though it's a damn good album.

Is 35 dollar a regular price at concerts there?

Man, DEP pits... I jumped in one one time at a festival after I had started my day with wodka and whiskey, mistaking it for respectively water and ice tea - a friend had put them in plastic bottles. It's a wonder I didn't throw up.

[norecess]

Thanks for the review! Make sure you have some big guys with you next time, it helps against assholes who just care about breaking other peoples bones

Maybe I can turn it into a profession; pay my ticket and I'll keep you out of trouble during shows, and get you up front. 

[Lunica]

You're already doing it for free, so I'm not gonna start paying you now Mohaha.

[Charmerski]

Thanks for the support Usually I can handle a rowdy pit, but this one sucked big time.
Here's a short, not so good video, from the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEqzfLbWmZ8
Norecess, we probably attended the same Fantomas show in Amsterdam, April 2004, at the Paradiso. Part of the Delirium Cordia tour, Flat Earth Society did the warm up.

[norecess]

Norecess, we probably attended the same Fantomas show in Amsterdam, April 2004, at the Paradiso. Part of the Delirium Cordia tour, Flat Earth Society did the warm up.

Yep, I was there.

[mopafeena]

Thanks for the review. Bummer about the dickheads in the crowd though. They can really spoil your night.

[chopklop]

They went to Israel? Jesus (no pun), just be thankful and shut the fuck up! Hahahahahaha.

[Michael Jordan]

They went to Israel? Jesus (no pun), just be thankful and shut the fuck up! Hahahahahaha.

They went to Israel???   that war torn country in the middle of the dessert where everyone lives in tents and ride camels? jesus, the people there shouldn't just be thankful and shut up, they should kiss everyone's ass and thank the lord every day for the rest of their life that an american band came to play there!

Read the fucking post and u will notice that the guy liked the show and appreciated the bands coming over. From other reviews I read in Israeli music forums, most of the 700+ people that watched the show say it was one of the best things that has ever happened to them. Maybe there were some dickheads in the crowd but that happened in Melvins shows I've seen in the U.S and Australia (especially the geek tour shows with fantomas and Tomahawk). However I agree that throwing a burning cigarette on stage (at a non-smoking gig) is fucked.

Moving on, Charmerski - I know it's a bummer when dickheads start moshing around you. eventhough I'm not a fan of moshing I can understand why some people do it (I think I got over it about 11 years ago when I was 17) but in my opinion someone who is moshing at a Melvins shows just completely misses the point! There is so much more to a melvins gig than jumping around and if these dicks realised it I'm sure everyone would have had a better time.

Some more clips and photos from last night's show:

The Bit / beginning of Ballad of dwight...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBfNpSu2RAc&mode=related&search=

The Talking horse (same link Charmerski posted)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEqzfLbWmZ8

Buzzo doing a Michael Jordan impression:
http://prdupl02.ynet.co.il/ForumFiles_2/20428441.JPG

Tim Moss with a couple of happy fans:
http://prdupl02.ynet.co.il/ForumFiles_2/20428087.JPG

[Michael Jordan]

one more link:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3393018,00.html

This is a review of the show in an Israeli website. Click on the photos on the right to enlarge

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Classic:

[bUTTHOLEmAN]

The REAL reason the melvins came to Israel:
Beaches and Babes!

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3091465&page=1